Information processing apparatus and information processing method

ABSTRACT

An information processing apparatus performs a process in accordance with a command. The information processing apparatus includes a first selection unit configured to refer to a storage unit that stores a plurality of recognition commands for inputting the command by speech, recognize input speech and select a command based on the recognized input speech, and a second selection unit configured to sequentially select a plurality of commands that correspond to a plurality of recognition commands stored in the storage unit. The information processing apparatus further includes a process determination unit configured to select either the first selection unit or the second selection unit based on an operation performed on a predetermined operation unit, and an execution unit configured to execute a command which is selected by one of the selection units that is selected by the process determination unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus(e.g., television set, computer, etc.) which is capable of performingspeech recognition.

2. Description of the Related Art

Speech recognition technology for recognizing speech of a user can beused in various devices such as car navigation. Speech recognitionallows a user to enter an input selected from a plurality of selectionitems by speaking a corresponding word only once. As a result, thenumber of user operable buttons or other user input steps required foroperating a device can be reduced. However, speech recognition hasproblems such as misrecognition, or that a device using speechrecognition cannot be operated when a user does not remember therecognition vocabulary.

To solve such problems, speech recognition is often used together withoperation performed on a graphical user interface (GUI) using buttonsand screen, thus realizing user-friendliness in a device operation. Anexample of such a method is discussed in Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-Open No. 10-171492. Further, for example, a method is devised inwhich a user is presented with a list of speech recognition commands,and the user can select a recognition command from the list through aGUI. FIG. 12 illustrates a speech recognition apparatus displaying alist of recognition commands.

In FIG. 12, a list 1201 is a list of speech recognition commands. Afocus 1202 selects an item from the list 1201. When a user presses apredetermined button in the speech recognition apparatus, the speechrecognition apparatus displays the list 1201 illustrated in FIG. 12. Theuser moves the focus 1202 by, for example, pressing a button, and theuser can select the desired recognition command and execute the command.

However, in a case where a user wants to consecutively execute aplurality of commands, it may not be appropriate either to selectrecognition commands by using speech recognition, or to selectrecognition commands from a list as described above. For example, when auser selects a moving image, still image, or music, from a plurality ofcontents, it is preferable to sequentially select and confirm each ofthe contents before selecting the desired content. In such a case, it isburdensome for a user to pronounce each of contents. On the other hand,in a case where a user selects an item from among a list, manyoperations are required, such as displaying the list, moving the focus,and executing the recognition command. Consequently, it is difficult toconsecutively execute a plurality of recognition commands.

Therefore, it is desirable that an information processing apparatusincludes a method which allows a user to sequentially select recognitioncommands by a single operation. In such a method, recognition commandscan be consecutively selected and confirmed by a single operation, whichcomplements selection of a desired recognition command by speechrecognition. Furthermore, it is desirable to relate the sequentialselection of recognition commands and the speech recognition operationto each other, so that a user can intuitively understand the relationbetween the two operations. This can be realized by, for example,performing the two operations using the same button.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the present invention, an embodiment isdirected to an information processing apparatus which performs a processin accordance with a command. The information processing apparatusincludes a first selection unit configured to refer to a storage unitthat stores a plurality of recognition commands for inputting thecommand by speech, recognize input speech, and select a command based onthe recognized input speech, a second selection unit configured tosequentially select a plurality of commands that correspond to aplurality of recognition commands stored in the storage unit, a processdetermination unit configured to select either the first selection unitor the second selection unit based on an operation (e.g., user inputoperation) performed on a predetermined operation unit (e.g., a buttonincluded in a remote controller), and an execution unit configured toexecute a command which is selected by one of the selection units thatis selected by the process determination unit.

Further features and aspects of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description of exemplaryembodiments with reference to the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments, features,and aspects of the invention and, together with the description, serveto explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram illustrating a functionalconfiguration of an information processing apparatus according to afirst exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of the informationprocessing apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates an operation of the information processing apparatusaccording to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a graph of button pressing time according to the firstexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a graph of button pressing time according to a third exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a graph of button pressing time according to a fourthexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process of the informationprocessing apparatus according to a fifth exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates a list of recognition commands which is displayedwhen commands are sequentially selected and executed according to asixth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 illustrates a list of recognition commands according to an eighthexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 illustrates a subset of recognition commands according to aninth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 illustrates phoneme sequences of recognition commands accordingto a tenth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 illustrates a list of recognition commands displayed accordingto a conventional method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Various exemplary embodiments, features, and aspects of the inventionwill be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

First Exemplary Embodiment

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram illustrating a functionalconfiguration of an information processing apparatus according to afirst exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a pressing time obtaining unit 101 obtains apressing time representing a length of time a speech recognition buttonassigned to speech recognition is pressed. A process determination unit102 determines a recognition command selection process based on apressing time of the speech recognition button. A speech recognitionunit 103 recognizes speech spoken by a user and selects a recognitioncommand that is a speech recognition target. A recognition commandselection unit 104 selects a recognition command in a predeterminedorder. A recognition command execution unit 105 executes the selectedrecognition command.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of the informationprocessing apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. Operation of an embodiment of the present inventionwill be described below by referring to FIGS. 1 and 2.

In step S201, a user presses a speech recognition button for performingspeech recognition. In step S202, the pressing time obtaining unit 101obtains a pressing time of the speech recognition button. In step S203,the process determination unit 102 determines whether the pressing timeis longer than or equal to a predetermined length of time T. If thepressing time is longer than or equal to T (YES in step S203), theprocess determination unit 102 selects the speech recognition unit 103.Then, the process proceeds to step S204 in which the speech recognitionunit 103 selects a recognition command by recognizing a user's speech.On the other hand, if the pressing time is shorter than T (NO in stepS203), the process determination unit 102 selects the recognitioncommand selection unit 104. Then, the process proceeds to step S205 inwhich the recognition command selection unit 104 selects in apredetermined order a recognition command from recognition commands thatare recognition targets. In step S206, the recognition command executionunit 105 executes the recognition command which is selected by thespeech recognition unit 103 or the recognition command selection unit104.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of an information processing apparatusaccording to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Asystem configured of a television set is described as an example. Thetelevision system includes a remote controller having a microphone and aspeech recognition button, the pressing time obtaining unit 101, processdetermining unit 102, speech recognition unit 103, recognition commandselection unit 104, and recognition command execution unit 105.Referring to FIG. 3, a television set 301 is operated by a remotecontroller 302. In the remote controller 302, a microphone 303 is usedto input speech, and a speech recognition button 304 is a buttonassociated with speech recognition.

In FIG. 3, when a user presses the speech recognition button 304 for along duration (referred to herein as “long press” or “long pressing”),the television set 301 detects the long pressing and performs speechrecognition. More specifically, when the user long presses the speechrecognition button 304, and speaks into the microphone 303, this causesthe remote controller 302 to send speech data to the television set 301.The television set 301 recognizes the speech data and then executes therecognition command which is a recognition result. For example, when auser speaks “700” into the microphone 303 of the remote controller 302,the television set 301 processes the corresponding speech data receivedfrom the remote controller 302 and recognizes the speech, and causes thedisplay channel to be changed to channel 700 in accordance with therecognized speech.

On the other hand, if a user presses the speech recognition button 304for a short duration (referred to herein as “short press” or “shortpressing”), the television set 301 detects the short pressing. Each timethe television set 301 detects such a short pressing, the television set301 executes in a predetermined order a recognition command that can berecognized by speech recognition. Referring to the example of FIG. 3,each time the user short presses the speech recognition button 304, thetelevision set 301 consecutively changes and switches to a channel whichis a recognition target, such as 152, 327, and 418. The recognitioncommands can be executed in any order, for example, in a numericalorder, in an alphabetical order, or in an order of registering as aspeech recognition target.

FIG. 4 is a graph of pressing time of a speech recognition button 304according to the present exemplary embodiment. The horizontal axisrepresents the button pressing time, and at time 0, a user starts topress the speech recognition button. Graph (a) represents a pressingtime of a short pressing and graph (b) represents a pressing time of along pressing of the speech recognition button 304.

In a case of graph (a) which represents a short pressing time, a periodbetween time 401 when an information processing apparatus detects that auser presses the speech recognition button 304 and time 402 when a userreleases the speech recognition button 304, is shorter than thethreshold value T. Therefore, at time 402, the process determinationunit 102 selects the recognition command selection unit 104, and therecognition command selection unit 104 selects a recognition commandbased on a predetermined order. The recognition command execution unit105 then executes the recognition command.

In a case of graph (b) which represents a long pressing time, theprocess determination unit 102 selects the speech recognition unit 103at time 403. At time 403, time T has elapsed from time 401 when theinformation processing apparatus detects pressing of the speechrecognition button 304. The speech recognition unit 103 obtains theuser's speech and performs speech recognition during a period betweentime 403 and time 404 when the user releases the speech recognitionbutton 304. The recognition command execution unit 105 then executes therecognition command which is the result of the speech recognition.

As described above, in the present exemplary embodiment, when a userlong presses a speech recognition button 304, speech recognition isperformed and a desired recognition command is executed. Furthermore,the present exemplary embodiment provides an operation in whichrecognition commands are consecutively executed when a user shortpresses a speech recognition button 304, which complements the processperformed using speech recognition.

Second Exemplary Embodiment

The first exemplary embodiment describes an example in which the presentinvention is applied to an operation of a television set as illustratedin FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, the remote controller 302 which includes themicrophone 303 and the speech recognition button 304 is an apparatusseparated from the television set 301. Consequently, the button pressingtime obtaining unit 101 that is included in the television set 301obtains the pressing time based on a control signal received from theremote controller 302.

However, the present invention is not limited to the above exemplaryembodiment. An information processing apparatus can include amicrophone, a speech recognition button, a pressing time obtaining unit,a processing determining unit, a speech recognition unit, a recognitioncommand selection unit, and a recognition command execution unit. Inthis case, the pressing time obtaining unit obtains the pressing timebased on the pressing state of the speech recognition button which isincluded in the same information processing apparatus.

Moreover, a first information processing apparatus can include amicrophone, a speech recognition button, a pressing time obtaining unit,and a process determination unit. A second information processingapparatus can include a speech recognition unit, a recognition commandselection unit, and a recognition command execution unit. In this case,the determination result obtained by the process determination unit inthe first information processing apparatus is sent to the secondinformation processing apparatus. Other various configurations can alsobe realized.

Third Exemplary Embodiment

In the above-described exemplary embodiments as shown in FIG. 4, when auser long presses the speech recognition button, the informationprocessing apparatus obtains user's speech and performs speechrecognition on the obtained speech during the pressing of the button.However, the present invention is not limited to the above exemplaryembodiment, and a user's speech can be obtained and the speechrecognition can be performed also after the user stops long pressing ofthe speech recognition button. FIG. 5 illustrates such an exemplaryembodiment.

Referring to FIG. 5, the process determination unit 102 selects thespeech recognition unit 103 at time 502. At time 502, time T has elapsedfrom time 501 when a user starts pressing the speech recognition button.The speech recognition unit 103 starts to obtain the user's speech attime 502, or at time 503 when the user releases the speech recognitionbutton. In the obtaining of speech, a voice activity detectiontechnology is used to detect whether user's speech is present. Thespeech obtaining ends at time 504 when the user's speech is not present.Various methods of the voice activity detection technology are discussedin the field of speech recognition, such as detection based on power ofspeech, and any detection method can be used. The speech recognitionunit 103 selects a recognition command by performing speech recognitionon the obtained speech. The recognition command execution unit 105 thenexecutes the recognition command obtained by the speech recognition.

Fourth Exemplary Embodiment

In the above-described exemplary embodiments, the process determinationunit 102 selects the speech recognition unit 103 when a user presses aspeech recognition button longer than or equal to the length of time T.On the other hand, the process determination unit 102 selects therecognition command selection unit 104 when the pressing time of thespeech recognition button is shorter than T. However, the presentinvention is not limited to the above exemplary embodiment. The processdetermination unit 102 can select the speech recognition unit 103 whenthe pressing time of the speech recognition button is shorter than T,and select the recognition command selection unit 104 when the pressingtime is longer than or equal to T. Such an exemplary embodiment will bedescribed below.

FIG. 6 is a graph of pressing time of a speech recognition buttonaccording to the present exemplary embodiment. In FIG. 6, graph (a)represents time of a short pressing of the speech recognition button,and graph (b) represents time of a long pressing of the speechrecognition button.

In graph (a) which represents a short pressing time, a period betweentime 601 when the user presses the speech recognition button and time602 when the button is released is shorter than T. Therefore, theprocess determination unit 102 selects the speech recognition unit 103.The speech recognition unit 103 starts obtaining speech at time 602 anddetects whether a user's speech is present using voice activitydetection technology. Various methods of the voice activity detectiontechnology are discussed in the field of speech recognition, such asdetection based on power of speech, and any detection method can beused. When the speech recognition unit 103 detects that the user speechis not present at time 603, the speech recognition unit 103 stopsobtaining speech, performs speech recognition, and selects a recognitioncommand.

In graph (b) which represents a long pressing time, the processdetermination unit 102 selects the recognition command selection unit104 at time 604. At time 604, time T has elapsed from when the userpresses the speech recognition button. The recognition command selectionunit 104 then selects a recognition command in a predetermined order,and the recognition command execution unit 105 executes the recognitioncommand. While the user long presses the speech recognition button, therecognition command selection unit 104 consecutively selects arecognition command in a predetermined order at a predetermined timeinterval 605. The recognition command execution unit 105 executes therecognition command.

According to the present exemplary embodiment, in a case where a usershort presses the speech recognition button, the user speaks afterpressing the button, and the information processing apparatus executes arecognition command obtained as a result of the speech recognition. Whenthe user long presses the speech recognition button, the informationprocessing apparatus consecutively executes the recognition command at apredetermined time interval during the pressing of the button.

Fifth Exemplary Embodiment

According to the above-described exemplary embodiments, in FIGS. 4, 5,and 6 it is described that an information processing apparatus startsobtaining speech when the process determination unit 102 selects thespeech recognition unit 103 (i.e., at time 403 in FIG. 4, time 502 ortime 503 in FIG. 5, and time 602 in FIG. 6).

However, the present invention is not limited to the above-describedexemplary embodiments, and the information processing apparatus canstart obtaining speech also when a user starts pressing the speechrecognition button (i.e., at time 401 in FIG. 4, time 501 in FIG. 5, andtime 601 in FIG. 6). In such a case, the information processingapparatus stores the obtained speech in a memory. If the processdetermination unit 102 selects the speech recognition unit 103 (i.e., attime 403 in FIG. 4, time 502 or time 503 in FIG. 5, and time 602 in FIG.6), the information processing apparatus performs speech recognition onthe obtained speech. On the other hand, if the process determinationunit 102 selects the recognition command selection unit 104 (at time 402in FIG. 4 and time 604 in FIG. 6), the information processing apparatusdeletes the speech stored in the memory at that time.

Alternatively, when a user starts pressing the speech recognition button(i.e., at time 401 in FIG. 4, time 501 in FIG. 5, and time 601 in FIG.6), the information processing apparatus can start performing speechrecognition at the same time as obtaining speech. In such a case, if theprocess determination unit 102 selects the recognition command selectionunit 104 (at time 402 in FIG. 4 and time 604 in FIG. 6), the informationprocessing apparatus deletes the speech stored in the memory and endsspeech recognition.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the above-described case. In stepS701, a user presses the speech recognition button to perform speechrecognition. In step S702, the speech recognition unit 103 startsobtaining speech and starts performing speech recognition. In step S703,the pressing time obtaining unit 101 obtains a pressing time of thespeech recognition button.

Then, in step S704, the process determination unit 102 determineswhether the pressing time is longer than or equal to a predeterminedlength of time T. If the pressing time is longer than or equal to T (YESin step S704), the process determination unit 102 selects the speechrecognition unit 103. The conditions of “longer than or equal to” and“shorter than” can be switched in accordance with the above-describedexemplary embodiments. Then the process advances to step S705 in whichthe speech recognition unit 103 selects a recognition command from aresult of speech recognition. On the other hand, if the pressing time isshorter than T (NO in step S704), the process determination unit 102selects the recognition command selection unit 104. Then the processproceeds to step S706 in which the process determination unit 102 endsthe speech recognition performed by the speech recognition unit 103. Instep S707, the recognition command selection unit 104 selects in apredetermined order a recognition command from among the recognitioncommands. In step S708, the recognition command execution unit 105executes a recognition command which is selected by the speechrecognition unit 103 or the recognition command selection unit 104.

Sixth Exemplary Embodiment

In the first exemplary embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 3, when a usershort presses the speech recognition button, the recognition commandselection unit 104 consecutively selects recognition commands.Consequently, the television screen simply changes in accordance with arecognition command. In the present exemplary embodiment, a list ofrecognition commands is further displayed, as illustrated in FIG. 8.FIG. 8 illustrates a list of recognition commands 801 and a focus 802 isplaced on a recognition command which is selected by the recognitioncommand selection unit 104.

When a user short presses the speech recognition button, the recognitioncommand execution unit 105 executes a recognition command which isselected by the recognition command selection unit 104, and the screenchanges. In addition, the recognition command execution unit 105displays the list of recognition commands 801. In the list ofrecognition commands 801, the focus 802 is placed on a recognitioncommand which is selected by the recognition command selection unit 104.The recognition command execution unit 105 deletes the list ofrecognition commands 801 after displaying the list of recognitioncommands 801 for a predetermined length of time. When a userconsecutively short presses the speech recognition button, therecognition command execution unit 105 sequentially executes recognitioncommands that are selected by the recognition command selection unit104. Additionally, the focus 802 is sequentially shifted down the listof recognition commands 801 to the recognition command that is executedby the recognition command execution unit 105. The recognition commandexecution unit 105 can delete the list of recognition commands 801 aftera predetermined length of time elapses from when the user starts shortpressing of the speech recognition button.

Seventh Exemplary Embodiment

In the above-described exemplary embodiments, when a user short pressesa speech recognition button, the television channel changes in apredetermined order in accordance with the selected recognition command.In order to realize the above exemplary embodiments, the informationprocessing apparatus needs to store a list of recognition commands andthe present position of command in the list. For example, the televisionchannel of the television set which is illustrated in FIG. 8 changes inorder from the top of the list of commands 801, i.e., in the order of152, 327, 418 . . . , etc. In such a case, when a user short presses thespeech recognition and the television channel changes from 152 to 327,the list of recognition commands 801 and information that the presenttelevision channel is the second item on the list, are stored in amemory. Consequently, the television channel can change to 418 when theuser short presses the speech recognition button next time.

However, the present invention is not limited to an exemplary embodimentin which the list of recognition commands and the present position onthe list are kept stored after the channel changes. For example, theposition on the list of recognition commands 801 can be reset after apredetermined length of time R lapses. In such a case, if the userconsecutively short presses the speech recognition button at timeintervals that are shorter than R, the television channel changes in thepredetermined order (i.e., 152, 327, 418) on the list of recognitioncommands 801. On the other hand, if the television channel remains atchannel 418 longer than or equal to time R, the position on the list ofrecognition commands in the list 801 is initialized, and the televisionchannel changes to 152 when the user short presses the speechrecognition button next time.

Eighth Exemplary Embodiment

In the above-described exemplary embodiments, when a user short pressesthe speech recognition button, the television channel changes in apredetermined order in accordance with the recognition command. In orderto realize the above exemplary embodiments, the information processingapparatus needs to store a list of recognition commands and the presentposition of command in the list.

However, the list of recognition commands 801 in FIG. 8 can be differentbefore and after the recognition commands are executed, depending on theuse of the present invention. In such a case, the list of recognitioncommands can be updated when a predetermined length of time S elapsesafter the recognition commands are executed.

Operation according to the present exemplary embodiment will bedescribed below by referring to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 illustrates an example ofa list of recognition commands 901 which is displayed on the programviewing screen of the television set 301 according to the presentexemplary embodiment. Additionally, an example of a list of recognitioncommands 902 is displayed on the program guide screen of the televisionset 301. The recognition command list 901 on the program viewing screenchanges every time a user short presses the speech recognition button.

It is assumed that the program viewing screen is changed to “programguide” on the list of recognition commands 901, and a user short pressesthe speech recognition button within a predetermined length of time Safter changing to the present screen. In this case, the program viewingscreen changes to “search” which follows “program guide”, while the listof recognition commands 901 is retained. On the other hand, when apredetermined time S elapses after changing to “program guide”, thedisplay changes to the list of recognition commands 902 on the programguide screen. If the user then short presses the speech recognitionbutton, “tomorrow” at the top of the list of recognition commands 902 onthe program guide screen is selected as the recognition command, and theselected recognition command is executed.

Ninth Exemplary Embodiment

In the above exemplary embodiments, the recognition command selectionunit 104 selects in a predetermined order a recognition command from allof the recognition commands. However, the present invention is notlimited to the above exemplary embodiments and can also be applied to acase where the recognition command selection unit 104 selects arecognition command only from a predetermined subset among recognitioncommands that are recognition targets. Such a case is illustrated inFIG. 10.

Recognition commands that are illustrated in FIG. 10 include change oftelevision channels, as well as menu, and power-off. However, a subsetof recognition commands from which the recognition command selectionunit 104 selects a recognition command is limited to television channelselection. Therefore, if a user consecutively short presses a speechrecognition button, only the channel is changed. A type of the subsetcan be freely determined. As described above, according to the presentexemplary embodiment, the recognition command selection unit 104 canselect a recognition command only from the subset of recognitioncommands that is determined in accordance with a given criterion.

Tenth Exemplary Embodiment

In the above-described exemplary embodiments, the recognition commandselection unit 104 can select a recognition command in any order. InFIG. 3, the recognition command selection unit 104 consecutively selectsrecognition commands in a numerical order (or an alphabetical order). Inthe present exemplary embodiment, the recognition command selection unit104 selects recognition commands in the order of difficulty level ofspeech recognition.

Recognition commands show a different difficulty level of speechrecognition in accordance with speech content. FIG. 11 illustratesrecognition commands and corresponding phoneme sequences for pronouncingthe recognition commands. In FIG. 11, recognition commands “152” and“155” have 10 common phonemes in 12 phonemes. Therefore, the recognitioncommands can be misrecognized easily, and the difficulty level of speechrecognition is high.

There are various conventional methods for calculating the difficultylevel of speech recognition, and any methods can be used in the presentexemplary embodiment. For example, the difficulty level of speechrecognition can be calculated based on a proportion of phonemes in arecognition command that match with another recognition command.Additionally, calculation can be based on phoneme feature, degree ofsimilarity between phonemes, or phoneme numbers. Moreover, eachrecognition command can include a previously calculated value about thedifficulty level of speech recognition. Furthermore, the difficultylevel of speech recognition can be calculated when the speechrecognition unit 103 reads the list of recognition commands. Therecognition command selection unit 104 selects recognition commands inthe descending order of the difficulty level of speech recognition whichis obtained by any of the above-described methods.

As described above, by arranging recognition commands in the descendingorder of the difficulty level of speech recognition, recognitioncommands that can be easily misrecognized are arranged at the beginningof the list. On the other hand, recognition commands that are not easilymisrecognized are arranged at the end of the list. That is, recognitioncommands that are difficult to be recognized by speech recognition canbe easily selected in a sequential selection. Moreover, recognitioncommands that require an increasing number of operations in sequentialselection can be easily recognized by speech recognition. Therefore, theinformation processing apparatus of the present invention realizes anoperation in which the two methods of selecting a recognition commandcan complement each other.

Eleventh Exemplary Embodiment

In the above-described exemplary embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 1,the process determination unit 102 selects either the speech recognitionunit 103 or the recognition command selection unit 104 based on thepressing time of the speech recognition button. However, the presentinvention is not limited to the pressing time, and a different operationperformed on an operation unit (such as a lever or a touch sensor) canbe used to switch between the speech recognition unit 103 and therecognition command unit 104. In such a case, the pressing timeobtaining unit 101 is not necessary. For example, if a lever is pushedforward, the process determination unit 102 selects the speechrecognition unit 103, and if the lever is pulled backward, the processdetermination unit 102 selects the recognition command selection unit104. The present invention can also be applied to such an embodiment.

Other Exemplary Embodiments

The present invention can also be achieved by providing a storagemedium, which stores software (program code) for realizing theoperations of the above-described exemplary embodiments, to a system oran apparatus. The program code stored in the storage medium can be readand executed by a computer (central processing unit (CPU) ormicro-processing unit (MPU)) of the system or the apparatus.

In this case, the software (program code) itself realizes the operationsof the embodiments. The software (program code) itself and the storagemedium, which stores the software (program code), constitute the presentinvention. The storage medium can be, for example, a Floppy® disk, ahard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a compactdisc-read-only memory (CD-ROM), a CD-recordable (CD-R), a CD-rewritable(CD-RW), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a DVD-ROM, a magnetic tape, anonvolatile memory card, or a ROM.

Furthermore, the above-described exemplary embodiments can be not onlyrealized by executing program code read by a CPU. An operating system(OS) or the like working on a computer can also perform a part or thewhole of processes according to instructions of the program code andrealize functions of the above-described exemplary embodiments.

Furthermore, program code read from a storage medium can be stored in amemory equipped in a function expansion board inserted in a computer ora function expansion unit connected to a computer, and a CPU in thefunction expansion board or the function expansion unit can execute allor part of the processing based on the instructions of the program codeto realize the functions of the above-described exemplary embodiments.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all modifications, equivalent structures, and functions.

This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No.2006-332174 filed Dec. 8, 2006, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

1. An information processing apparatus which executes a process inaccordance with a command, comprising: a first selection unit configuredto refer to a storage unit that stores a plurality of recognitioncommands for inputting the command by speech, recognize input speech,and select a command; a second selection unit configured to sequentiallyselect a plurality of commands that correspond to a plurality ofrecognition commands stored in the storage unit; a process determinationunit configured to select either the first selection unit or the secondselection unit based on an operation performed on a predeterminedbutton; and an execution unit configured to execute a command which isselected by one of the selection units that is selected by the processdetermination unit, wherein the process determination unit selectseither the first selection unit or the second selection unit, based on apressing time representing a length of time the button is pressed,wherein the process determination unit selects the first selection unitif the pressing time is shorter than a defined time duration, andselects the second selection unit if the pressing time is longer than orequal to the defined time duration, and wherein the execution unitsequentially executes the command at a predetermined time interval ifthe second selection unit is selected.
 2. An information processingapparatus which executes a process in accordance with a command,comprising: a first selection unit configured to refer to a storage unitthat stores a plurality of recognition commands for inputting thecommand by speech, recognize input speech, and select a command; asecond selection unit configured to sequentially select a plurality ofcommands that correspond to a plurality of recognition commands storedin the storage unit; a process determination unit configured to selecteither the first selection unit or the second selection unit based on anoperation performed on a predetermined operation unit; an execution unitconfigured to execute a command which is selected by one of theselection units that is selected by the process determination unit; anda difficulty level of speech recognition obtaining unit configured toobtain the difficulty level of speech recognition for each of therecognition command, wherein the second selection unit sequentiallyselects a plurality of commands corresponding to a plurality ofrecognition commands stored in the storage unit, in descending order ofthe difficulty level of speech recognition of the correspondingrecognition commands.
 3. A method for executing a process in accordancewith a command, the method comprising: selecting either a firstselecting process for selecting a command by referring to a storage unitthat stores a plurality of recognition commands for inputting thecommand by speech, and recognizing input speech, or a second selectingprocess for sequentially selecting a plurality of commands thatcorrespond to a plurality of recognition commands stored in the storageunit, based on operation performed on a predetermined button; andexecuting a command which is selected by one of the selecting processesthat is selected by the selecting step, wherein either the firstselecting process or the second selecting process is selected based on apressing time representing a length of time the button is pressed,wherein the first selecting process is selected if the pressing time isshorter than a defined time duration, and the second selecting processis selected if the pressing time is longer than or equal to the definedtime duration, and wherein the command is sequentially executed at apredetermined time interval if the second selecting process is selected.4. A method for executing a process in accordance with a command, themethod comprising: selecting either a first selecting process forselecting a command by referring to a storage unit that stores aplurality of recognition commands for inputting the command by speech,and recognizing input speech, or a second selecting process forsequentially selecting a plurality of commands that correspond to aplurality of recognition commands stored in the storage unit, based onoperation performed on a predetermined operation unit; executing acommand which is selected by one of the selecting processes that isselected by the selecting step; and obtaining a difficulty level ofspeech recognition for each of the recognition command, wherein thesecond selecting process sequentially selects a plurality of commandscorresponding to a plurality of recognition commands stored in thestorage unit, in descending order of the difficulty level of speechrecognition of the corresponding recognition commands.